Sweden Denies Playing Role in UK's Decision to Drop Guard on Assange

The Swedish Prosecution Authority was not involved in the decision by London's police service to remove its officers from outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been residing since 2012, the chief prosecutor said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — London's Metropolitan police said in October that they had stood down their around-the-clock guard of the Ecuadorian Embassy, citing no imminent prospect of a resolution to the matter, but had kept their covert surveillance operation in place. The 24/7 police watch has cost British taxpayers millions of pounds.

"This is a decision made by the British authorities and is not a result of actions by a Swedish prosecutor," Public Prosecution Director Marianne Ny was quoted in a statement published on the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s website as saying.

Sweden’s chief prosecutor said she was "fully confident" the London police had made the right decision, adding that Sweden would continue to investigate Assange on accusations of sexual assault.

"We are awaiting a general agreement between Sweden and Ecuador, which would enable Ecuador to give consent to interview Mr. Assange at the embassy in London," Ny said.

The founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblower website, which exposed thousands of classified US military and diplomatic documents, is wanted for questioning by Swedish authorities, but fears that Sweden will extradite him to the United States.